Thistlestar AU
by amuletjack
Summary: This just an AU where Bluefur chose to not give up her kits and Thistleclaw became deputy and then leader of ThunderClan. There are gonna be a lot of differences between this and the actual book series, like the character Sasha actually has a major role in this story. Please note that a lot of characters will act differently because they have had vastly different life experiences.
1. Affiliations

Affiliations

ThunderClan

Leader - Thistlestar - Thick-furred dark gray and white tabby tom and amber eyes

Deputy - Tigerclaw - Broad dark brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes

Medicine Cat -

Spottedleaf - Beautiful tortoise-shell she-cat with amber eyes

Warriors -

Longtail - Sandy tom with black stripes and blue eyes

Darkstripe - Dark gray tom with black stripes and amber eyes

Redtail - Tortoise-shell tom with a distinct ginger tail and amber eyes

Apprentice - Dustpaw

Lionheart - Thick furred golden tom with green eyes

Apprentice - Graypaw

Bluefur - Blue-gray she-cat with distinct blue eyes

Stonefur - Stocky gray tom with amber eyes

Apprentice - Sandpaw

Mistyheart - Sleek silver she-cat with bright blue eyes

Apprentice - Ravenpaw

Willowpelt - Pretty gray she-cat with blue eyes

Whitestorm - Sleek white tom with light amber eyes

Mousefur - Dusky brown tabby she-cat with fiery amber eyes

Runningwind - Sandy brown tabby tom with green eyes

Apprentices -

Graypaw - Gray tom with a darker gray stripe on his back and amber eyes

Sandpaw - Light ginger tabby she-cat with green eyes

Dustpaw - Dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Ravenpaw - Black tom with white on his chest and tail tip and green eyes

Queens -

Goldenflower - Golden brown tabby she-cat with light amber eyes

Frostfur - Pretty white she-cat with blue eyes

Brindleface - Gray tabby she-cat with green eyes

Speckletail - Light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Mossflower - Pretty white she-cat with gray spots and blue eyes

Kits -

Goldenflower and Patchpelt's Kit

Swiftkit - White tom with black spots and amber eyes

Frostfur and Lionheart's Kits

Brackenkit - Ginger tabby tom with light amber eyes

Thornkit - Dull brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Brightkit - White she-cat with ginger spots and blue eyes

Cinderkit - Dark gray she-cat with blue eyes

Elders -

One-Eye - Light gray she-cat with an amber eye virtually blind and deaf

Halftail - Brown tabby tom with a stumpy tail and light amber eyes

Dappletail - Tortoise-shell she-cat with dark blue eyes

Patchpelt - Small black and white tom with golden eyes

Smallear - Gray tom with small ears and amber eyes

ShadowClan

Leader - Brokenstar - Dark brown tabby tom with a crooked tail and amber eyes

Deputy - Blackfoot - Broad white tom with big black paws and Golden eyes

Medicine Cat - Runningnose - White tom with gray spots and amber eyes

Warriors -

Stumpytail - Dark brown tom with dark stripes and short tail and green eyes

Apprentice - Brownpaw

Boulder - Skinny gray tom with a torn ear and blue eyes

Apprentice - Wetpaw

Clawface - Brown tom with several scars and amber eyes

Apprentice - Littlepaw

Nightpelt - Thin black tom with a long tail and amber eyes

Queens -

Dawncloud - Golden tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Brightflower - Orange tabby she-cats with broad flat face and amber eyes

Elders - Ashfur - Skinny gray tom with blue eyes

WindClan

Leader - Tallstar - Old white and black tom with a long tail and amber eyes

RiverClan

Leader

Crookedstar - Light brown tabby tom with green eyes and a crooked jaw.

Deputy

Oakheart - Large thick furred red-brown tom with amber eyes

Cats Outside of Clans

Rusty - Handsome ginger tom with emerald green eyes

Sasha - Beautiful tawny Siamese she-cat with blue eyes, close friend of Rusty

Smudge - Pudgy black and white spotted tom, lives near the forest

Yellowfang - Dark gray old she-cat with a flat face and golden eyes

Barley - Black and white tom with amber eyes that lives on a farm


	2. Chapter 1

A young ginger tom sat on the edge of his fence staring into the vast woods that sat before him. The wind rushed through the trees shaking their leaves and branches. It felt as though the forest was calling for the ginger tom to explore. The young tom rose and jumped off his fence and began to enter the forest. For days he'd been wanting to see what the forest was really like. The feeling of the cool grass beneath his paws was incredible, and the formidable trees that surrounded him made him feel like a real wild cat. He dropped down so his belly fur was barely brushing the grass and his tail dragged on the ground behind him, trying to imitate a hunting cat. A small distance away, he saw a squirrel nibbling on an acorn. He began to cautiously move towards the squirrel in that same position.

As he moved forward, his tail brushed a fallen leaf and the squirrel darted off, only to be suddenly pounced on by a rather old looking blue-gray she-cat. The she-cat looked directly at the young tom, her blue eyes boring into his ginger pelt. As she stared her ears flattened against her head. She dropped the now dead squirrel and hissed, "What do you think you're doing hunting on ThunderClan territory, kit?"

The imposing she-cat scared the young tom so much he almost didn't answer. He quickly sputtered out, "What's a ThunderClan?"

Nose scrunching up in what appeared to be shock, the she-cat asked, "You've never heard of the four clans that hunt around here?" The small tom simply shook his head. With a relieved sigh, the she-cat began, "I suppose that explains a lot, you don't smell like a member of an enemy clan." She sat and began to lick her paw. "My name is Bluefur, kit, I am a warrior of ThunderClan," Bluefur announced proudly. The tom simply cocked his head to the side in a show of continued confusion. "Would you like to learn more about the clans, young one?" Bluefur asked, excitement sparking in her blue eyes.

The ginger tom widened his green eyes and stared at the older she-cat. He responded by saying, "Yes, I would!" The old she-cat appeared to be overjoyed by this response. "My name is Rusty, miss," Rusty introduced himself to the older she-cat. "What are the clans?"

"I'm glad you asked, Rusty, there are four clans in total, ShadowClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ThunderClan. As I said before, I hail from ThunderClan," Bluefur began, her eyes sparkling as she taught the small tom, "We clan cats must fight and hunt in order to survive, we compete to survive." Bluefur then turned towards the night sky. "And we believe that when a warrior dies, that they will then go and join StarClan, where our warrior ancestors all walk together," Bluefur stated, looking wistfully to the stars as she spoke.

Rusty spoke up and asked, "What do you hunt?"

"Well, that all depends on which clan you are part of. ThunderClan warriors hunt things like birds, mice, squirrels, the occasional rabbit, and the like. RiverClan warriors hunt mostly fish and the occasional vole. ShadowClan hunts more or less the same things as we do, only they also hunt lizards. And WindClan hunts mainly Rabbits and field mice." Bluefur paused for a moment, "I can teach you how to hunt, if you'd like, because that form you showed earlier was absolutely dismal," she offered, her eyes glittering as she looked at Rusty.

Rusty jumped up onto all fours and shouted excitedly, "Yeah! What'll you teach me? Can I join the clan?"

Bluefur froze for a moment at the mention of him joining the clan. "I don't think you're ready to join the clan quite yet, Rusty," Bluefur said worry obvious in her eyes. "Anyway, show me the crouch you were doing earlier," Bluefur said, a sudden authority in her voice.

Rusty quickly dropped down, his tail against the ground, and his stomach brushing the grass. Bluefur hummed thoughtfully for a moment before taking her paw and moving his tail to brush the edge of the grass, and raised his body to be just above the grass. "Now, step lightly," Bluefur commanded.

Stepping cautiously, Rusty tried to step as lightly as he could, though his collar kept on jingling with every step he took. The more the collar jingled, the more Bluefur's tail lashed in frustration.

"Stop," Bluefur commanded, padding over to Rusty. "Can you remove that collar?" Bluefur asked, looking down at the young ginger tom.

Rusty paused for a moment. "I've never really tried to take it off, my twoleg would get mad," Rusty briefly explained. "I can try if you'd like," Rusty offered, worried the old she-cat might leave because of the collar.

"No, no, it's fine," Bluefur said, wrapping her tail around her paws. "What do you think about learning how to fight, Rusty?" Bluefur asked, her blue eyes analyzing the young tom.

Excitement surged through Rusty at those words. "I would love to!" Rusty exclaimed, his tail twitching in anticipation.

Bluefur couldn't help but purr softly at the young tom's excitement. They spent the rest of the night until it was sometime past moon high practicing combat and counter strikes.

Before leaving, Bluefur said, "If you'd like to learn more, Rusty, come back here tomorrow night." Bluefur then ran off into the forest.

Rusty gazed after her, his green eyes illuminated by the light of the moon. As soon as he turned around to go back over the fence, he heard a voice call down to him, "Who was that?"

Rusty looked up at the top of the fence and saw a young seal point Siamese she-cat. "Oh, hey, Sasha," Rusty said as he jumped up onto the fence to join his friend. "That was a wild cat! Her name is Bluefur, she says that she's going to teach me how to hunt and fight!" he exclaimed with excitement. "Do you want me to show you some moves?" Rusty asked, his eyes gleaming with elation. Sasha nodded, and Rusty jumped off the fence to begin showing her some of the moves that Bluefur had taught him.

The young Siamese looked at Rusty in great interest. As he continued to show the moves Bluefur had shown him, Sasha joined Rusty in his yard and began to mimic his movements. In a moment, Sasha seemed to make a decision and said, "I want you to teach me what you learn from this wild cat," Sasha stated, a certain determination in her eyes.


	3. Chapter 2

-Half a Moon Later-

Things continued like that, where Bluefur would teach Rusty at night, and then the next morning, Rusty would teach Sasha, until Sasha decided she wanted to learn directly fromBluefur. And so, Rusty brought Sasha along with him that night for the nightly training with Bluefur.

After waiting for a little while, Bluefur emerged from the forest. Upon seeing Sasha, Bluefur paused for a moment. "Rusty, who is this she-cat?" Bluefur inquired, looking the young she-cat up and down.

Rusty looked to Sasha nervously, and as he was about to speak, Sasha took the initiative. "My name is Sasha, it's nice to finally meet you, Bluefur," Sasha greeted fondly.

Bluefur approached Sasha, sizing up the much smaller she-cat. "And why is it that you wanted to meet me, Sasha?" Bluefur asked amiably.

"I want you to teach me like you're teaching Rusty, Bluefur," Sasha stated bluntly, not seeming to want to take "no" for an answer.

Interest sparked in Bluefur's eyes. "Alright, I'll teach you, if you can beat Rusty," Bluefur said, thought clear in her expression as she gave her condition.

Sasha turned to face Rusty, her ears flattened against her head. She quickly pounced onto his back. As Rusty tried to shake her off his back, she bit his scruff to latch on and slid off him, still keeping his scruff latched in her jaws, and with a strong pull, knocked him over. Sasha finally placed her paw onto his throat, her claws sheathed. After a few seconds of just staring down at her friend, Sasha looked to Bluefur and asked, "So, can you teach me now?"

Bluefur simply smiled at the tenacious young she-cat and said, "I think you're more than deserving of learning what I have to teach."

As Bluefur began to rise and opened her mouth to begin giving more instructions, a voice called from the forest, "What are you doing?!"

With an eye roll, Bluefur looked to forest. "Longtail, why did you follow me?" asked Bluefur, annoyance clear in her voice.

"I've seen you sneaking out of camp for the past half moon, and I thought it seemed kind of weird, so, I decided to follow you," Longtail explained. "Now, will you tell me what exactly it is that you're doing?" Longtail asked in a rather demanding tone, his eyes clinging to the collars around the two young cats' necks.

"I've been teaching these two how to hunt and fight," Bluefur said dismissively, waving her tail as if to say the conversation was over. "Sasha, Rusty, that tom over there is Longtail, he's loyal, if not somewhat nosy," she said, glaring sharply at the tom. "However, he can't exactly do anything, since he holds no position of power over me," Bluefur said, her head held high.

A slight growl could be heard from Longtail as he said, "I might not, but as a warrior, you know that I have to report this to Tigerclaw and Thistlestar." He turned his back to her and flicked his tail, indicating her to follow him.

Bluefur gave an annoyed sigh, but followed anyway. "Come along you two, I believe that you may want to be present for this," Bluefur called behind her. Sasha and Rusty followed the blue-gray she-cat on either side of her.

Rusty's mind raced with questions, like " _where are we going?_ " and " _is Bluefur in trouble?_ " He and Sasha remained completely silent until they reached a small tunnel in the underbrush. Bluefur walked through the tunnel and seemingly signaled with her tail that it was okay for the two young cats to follow her through the tunnel. Sasha went first, and then Rusty followed after her. As he exited the tunnel, he saw a huge clearing with multiple dens and a huge rock that sat in the center. He saw Longtail and Bluefur enter a small hole in the rock.

It felt like an eternity had passed while waiting for Bluefur and Longtail to come back out of the rock. As the two exited the rock, a huge gray and white tabby tom followed behind them, fury blazing in his amber eyes. Fear shot through Rusty as the huge tom approached Sasha and himself. He looked to his friend and saw a nearly fearless look on her face.

The large gray and white tom glared down at the two cats, his glare sharpening when he saw the collars around the young cats' necks. "Bluefur, you and I have never seen eye to eye, but _this_ ," the tom emphasized his point by using his tail to gesture to the two young cats. "This is too much," the tom said in a low growl looking darkly to Bluefur, who seemed completely unshaken by the tom's anger.

Bluefur began licking her paws and said in an almost bored tone, "Thistlestar, I have been training these two, and I believe that they would be valuable additions to the clan. The she-cat is a skilled fighter and a quick learner, and the tom has more passion for learning about these clans than any other cat I've met in a long time." Bluefur remained unwavering under the scrutinizing gaze of Thistlestar.

Thistlestar groaned at these words. "Alright, it's too late for me to be thinking about this. I'll decide on what to do about you and these two things in the morning, where all the clan can know of what you've been up to," Thistlestar decided annoyance and slight exhaustion clear in his voice.

A smug look seemed to come across Longtail's face at these words. "Well, I'm going to spend the night in the nursery. Have a good evening, Bluefur," Longtail said, sauntering off into a bush den off to the side of the camp.

Rusty stared after the tabby, confusion rolling over him as he realized that the much older tom was going to stay in a nursery. "Bluefur, what's in the nursery?" asked Rusty, curiosity clear in his voice.

With a long look to the nursery, Bluefur said, "Longtail's gone into the nursery to join his mate." Her eyes narrowed as she said "mate".

"Who's his mate?" Rusty asked, wondering about Bluefur's clear displeasure.

Bluefur sighed and said simply, "His mate is a she-cat named Mossflower, and she is going to be having her kits any day, so he's been staying in the nursery just in case she ever needs anything." She seemed pleased with Longtail's doting nature towards his mate, but not exactly happy about who his mate was.

"Is there something wrong with his mate? You don't seem to like that he's with her," Rusty inquired.

A soft purr came from Bluefur as she said, "Oh, I have absolutely nothing against her. It's just that, Mossflower is my daughter, and I guess you could say I'm just not exactly happy that my little girl has finally grown-up." The old blue-gray she-cat looked to Rusty with a pleasant expression. "Though, her choice in mate didn't really help either," she said after a moment of thought.

Sasha approached asking, "Um, Bluefur, since the verdict will be given tomorrow, where is it that we are supposed to sleep?" Sasha began looking around, as though searching for a place in the clearing that might be comfortable enough for sleeping.

Bluefur looked over to a small stump and said, "I'm sure that Spottedleaf would be more than willing to share her den with you two for the night." The she-cat began to pad off to the stump. "I'll talk to her, so that she won't be as surprised about you two visiting her," she said as she lead the two young cats to the den.

Rusty followed Bluefur, Sasha walking by his side. As they entered the stump, Rusty saw a beautiful tortoise-shell she-cat. The she-cat was obviously tired, her amber eyes were drooping sleepily.

"Good evening, Bluefur," the she-cat chimed amiably, a kind look in her eyes.

"Good evening, Spottedleaf. I have a favor to ask of you," Bluefur began.

"Anything," Spottedleaf said, swiping her tongue over her chest fur to flatten it.

With a flick of the tail, Bluefur gestured for Rusty and Sasha to join her and Spottedleaf. "These two need a place to sleep for the night, and I was wondering if they could stay with you for the night," the blue-eyed she-cat requested.

Spottedleaf just simply nodded, clearly exhausted, but happy to help. "You two can make nests over in the corner, I have some extra moss right there," Spottedleaf directed, nodding her head in the direction of the moss.

The tortoise-shell left Rusty somewhat dazed. Sasha nudged him with her shoulder and knocked him out of his daze. "Whoever puts their nest together last has to clean up in the morning," Sasha challenged, mischief clear in her eyes.

In the end, Rusty finished his nest last, and the two friends fell asleep side-by-side.


	4. Chapter 3

-The Next Morning-

Rusty awoke to a rough prodding. His eyes bleary, and his mind foggy, his surroundings confused him. As he looked up at the one that had roused him from his sleep, he remembered the events from last night. His green eyes met with the heated amber eyes of the large gray and white tom from the night before.

"Get up, kittypet," he growled, his obvious dislike of Rusty shone in his eyes. "Wake your friend and come out to the clearing. The clan will hold witness to Bluefur's punishment," the tom grumbled, his tail lashing in annoyance. He then turned and left the den.

Rusty stood finally, and stretched his legs. He gently prodded Sasha with his nose. "Sasha, we need to get up and see what's gonna happen to Bluefur!" Rusty urged, his concern for the older she-cat clear in his voice. "Come on," he pressed.

Blue eyes opened sleepily as Rusty continued to urgently prod his friend. "Okay, okay, I got you the first time, geez," Sasha groaned annoyedly. The plump Siamese stretched her back as she woke herself.

The two then cleaned up the nests they had made. "Alright, let's go," Sasha mewed, beginning to pad towards the exit. Rusty quickly followed after her.

As the two friends entered the clearing, they were met with the wary stares of several wild cats, most were large and muscled cats, some were very obviously scarred, others had blemish-free pelts. Rusty noticed that there were a few she-cats off by a thick bramble bush. A beautiful white she-cat was trying to groom four rowdy kits, while a golden tabby she-cat watched a small black and white kit play with another white and ginger tabby kit. Rusty then looked over a small distance from where those she-cats were sitting and saw the sandy tom from the night before and a small white and gray she-cat, obviously heavy with kits.

As Rusty began to look around more, he heard a deep, harsh voice call from the large rock, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the High Rock for a clan meeting!" Rusty quickly whipped his head around to look up at the gray and white tabby tom. "It has come to my attention that one of our clan members has been teaching a pair of kittypets the ways of the clan," Thistlestar announced glaring down at Bluefur who simply rolled her eyes at the much bigger tom. Thistlestar continued, "And those kittypets are here in camp right now." All the clan cats began to stare at Rusty and Sasha, their gazes felt burning on Rusty's pelt. Rusty looked pleadingly to his friend, and Sasha held a dignified face.

"Thistlestar, if you're going to banish me from the clan, then get on with it," Bluefur called to the tom, beginning to lick her paws.

With a sharp glare, Thistlestar seemed to suddenly get an idea. "Bluefur, I'm not going to banish you. I'm going to thank you for preparing these two cats to be fully integrated into our clan," Thistlestar growled, a smug look in his eyes. Rusty looked to Bluefur and saw an almost terrified look on her face. "Today, we are welcoming two new apprentices into our clan," Thistlestar announced. "Kittypets, come before the High Rock," Thistlestar commanded, his tail lashing impatiently.

Sasha was the first to move, Rusty quickly following after her. Sasha sat before the rock and calmly met Thistlestar's intense gaze, while Rusty felt as though he might burn alive under the tom's heated gaze.

He looked expectantly down at the two. Sasha calmly mewed, "I'm Sasha, and this is Rusty." She emphasized the introduction by pointing to herself and the orange tom with her tail.

Thistlestar looked first to Rusty and began, "Rusty, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as…" Thistlestar paused for a moment to think of a name.

Bluefur looked to Rusty and spoke up with, "Firepaw."

Narrowing his eyes at the blue-gray she-cat, Thistlestar continued with, "You will be known as Firepaw. Your mentor will be Bluefur. I hope Bluefur will pass down all she knows on to you." Thistlestar looked smugly down at Bluefur, and she suddenly understood his intentions. "Bluefur, come here," Thistlestar commanded. "Bluefur, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Stonepelt, and you have shown yourself to be clever, and patient. You will be the mentor of Firepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Firepaw," Thistlestar finished.

Bluefur then approached Firepaw, her eyes showing a slight worry for what was to come. "Now we touch noses," Bluefur whispers. Firepaw then touches his nose to Bluefur's.

Thistlestar then turns to face Sasha. "Sasha, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as…" Thistlestar paused, and then added, "You will be known as Scorchpaw. Your mentor will be Tigerclaw." A large dark brown tabby tom that sat at the base of the rock looked up at the leader with surprise in his eyes. "I hope Tigerclaw will pass down all he knows on to you." Tigerclaw wordlessly approached the newly named Scorchpaw. "Tigerclaw, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from myself, and you have shown yourself to be fierce, and loyal. You will be the mentor of Scorchpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Scorchpaw," Thistleclaw announced, watching as Scorchpaw and Tigerclaw touched noses to finish the ceremony.

The clan looked around uncomfortably. A few small voices called, "Firepaw! Scorchpaw!" Firepaw looked and saw that it was the group of kits that he had seen before.

Slowly the voices of the other clan cats joined in to cheer for the new apprentices. "Firepaw! Scorchpaw! Firepaw! Scorchpaw!" cheered the clan.

After Thistlestar put the clan meeting to an end, the clan then went about its business, most cats leaving the camp, and some staying behind to converse.

Firepaw could feel the fact that even though they had cheered for him, they didn't want him in the clan. "Bluefur, is it bad that I'm in the clan now?" Firepaw mewed softly, his voice shaking slightly from his discomfort.

A sigh rose in Bluefur's throat. "I don't know, Firepaw, I don't know," she answered worriedly. Moving calmly she then began, "Well, if we're going to make the clan accept you as a true member of ThunderClan, then we're going to have to get you familiar with it's members." The blue-gray she-cat began to pad towards the bramble bush in the clearing. Hesitantly, Firepaw followed her.

Upon reaching the den, Firepaw saw Longtail helping Mossflower back over to the den. "Longtail, I'm okay. I'm just going to be having kits, I'm not helpless," Mossflower purred, nuzzling Longtail as she sat down by the other she-cats.

With a very concerned look, Longtail licked his mate affectionately between the ears. "I know, I know, I just want to make sure that your okay," Longtail purred, pressing his muzzle to Mossflower's. "I'm going to go out hunting, if you need me for anything while I'm gone, just ask one of the warriors or apprentices to come and get me," Longtail mewed, rising to leave camp.

As he passed Firepaw, he glared sharply at the small ginger tom.

Bluefur gave Longtail a sharp look before looking to the she-cats. Bluefur laid down with the other she-cats. "Firepaw, these she-cats here are the queens of the clan, or the she-cats that are raising or expecting kits," Bluefur stated. "That is Goldenflower," Bluefur pointed a golden-brown tabby she-cat with her tail, "Frostfur," she gestured to a pretty white she-cat, "Brindleface," then a silver tabby she-cat, "Speckletail," then to an older light brown tabby she-cat, "and my daughter Mossflower," and she finally pointed to a pretty white she-cat with gray splotches.

"It's nice to meet you," Firepaw said, his paws shifting nervously.

Mossflower looked kindly to the ginger tom. "It's nice to have you in the clan, Firepaw," she greeted sweetly, her fluffy tail swaying calmly behind her. "As my mother said, my name is Mossflower," she introduced sweetly. "My mate is Longtail, and he can be very sweet, though he is a bit abrasive at times, he's just passionate is all," Mossflower said calmly. "You've just got to get to know him," she purred softly, thinking of her mate.

"Here we go again," Speckletail joked, rolling her eyes at Mossflower. "I haven't seen two cats so affectionately in love in a long time, now I get to watch it everyday," Speckletail mewed, poking fun at the much younger queen. "Once you get to be my age, dear, you probably won't be quite as affectionate," Speckletail meowed.

The other queens began to purr quietly in amusement. Mossflower began to look down and shuffle her paws embarrassedly. "I'm just really happy that we're having kits," Mossflower mewed weakly. A gentle purr rose in Bluefur's throat as she saw how embarrassed her daughter was.

Firepaw stared at Mossflower's heavy belly. Mossflower noticed the young tom's stare and asked, "Would you like to feel?"

Firepaw's pelt burned in embarrassment. "No, miss," he said uncomfortably, staring at the ground.

With a relaxed stretch, Bluefur rose to her paws. "Alright, I'm going to introduce you to a couple of the other warriors in the clan, and then I'll show you around the territory," Bluefur said.

Firepaw quickly followed after the older blue-gray she-cat. "Good bye," he called back to the group of queens.

In the center of the clearing, a pair of silver gray cats laid side-by-side sharing a thrush. Bluefur confidently approached the two cats, a proud purr rising in her throat. "Hello," greeted Bluefur.

The two cats looked up, fondly greeting the blue-gray she-cat. "Hello, Bluefur," the silver she-cat purred. She then turned her bright blue eyes on to Firepaw. "Oh, hi," she mewed in an even tone. "Welcome to the clan, Firepaw," the she-cat greeted the ginger tom.

"Firepaw, these two are Stonefur, and Mistyheart, they are my other two kits," Bluefur purred, her pride obvious in her voice. "They are both mentoring two of your den mates. Mistyheart is the mentor of Ravenpaw who is out on his first solo hunt. And Stonefur is the mentor of Sandpaw, who is out training with Dustpaw and his mentor Redtail," Bluefur explained.

Stonefur blatantly stared at the collar that was still situated around Firepaw's neck. "Why do you still have that?" Stonefur asked bluntly, nodding his head to Firepaw's collar.

With a quick look down, Firepaw became very suddenly aware of the collar. "Oh, I haven't gotten to try and take it off. I'm not sure if I can take it off," Firepaw said quietly.

Standing, Stonefur approached the ginger tom. "I can help you get it off," Stonefur stated, now at his full height.

"Please do," Firepaw said, his eyes brightening at the large gray tom's offer.

Stonefur tightly held the collar in his jaws and pulled. The collar began to slowly loosen, until suddenly, the collar slipped off and over Firepaw's head. Dangling from Stonefur's jaws was Firepaw's collar. "I'm going to go and bury this," Stonefur said, padding out of the camp.

And everything fully hit Firepaw. He wasn't Rusty anymore, his life with his housefolk was behind him, and there was no going back. Rusty turned to look at Bluefur and Mistyheart.

With a proud look from Bluefur, Mistyheart said, "I think you look like a proper warrior now, Firepaw." The older she-cat's comment made Firepaw swell with a sudden surge of confidence. "Well, I'm going to go and check on Ravenpaw," Mistyheart mewed softly rising off the ground.

Firepaw watched the beautiful silver she-cat leave the camp.

"Well, I think it's time for you and I to go out and see the territory of ThunderClan," Bluefur began, starting to rise, when a dusky brown she-cat bolted into camp, a huge gash in her shoulder.

Frostfur rushed to she-cat's side and yelled for Spottedleaf. "Mousefur, what happened?" Frostfur asked worriedly, keeping Mousefur from collapsing.

Gasping the she-cat, Mousefur, tried to answer. "I was at the Sunningrocks, and there was a RiverClan attack headed by Oakheart," Mousefur wheezed out, exhaustion clear in her amber eyes. "Runningwind, Darkstripe, Whitestorm, and Willowpelt came to fight back. I tried to help, but a pair of RiverClan warriors ganged up on me. As I fled, I saw Redtail, Dustpaw, and Sandpaw running to join the fight," Mousefur explained as Spottedleaf came out to help Mousefur to the Medicine Cat's Den.

"Take it easy, Mousefur," Spottedleaf meowed softly, trying to calm Mousefur. "Frostfur, would you mind helping me tend to her wounds?" Spottedleaf requested.

"Not at all," Frostfur replied, her blue eyes looking sympathetically to the wounded Mousefur.

"Bluefur, should we go and help?" Firepaw asked looking to the blue-gray she-cat. As he looked at her, she had a foggy and somewhat distant look in her eyes. "Bluefur? Are you okay?" asked Firepaw, worry filling his chest.

With a shake of her head, Bluefur simply said, "I'll be fine."

After sitting there in silence for a few moments, a tortoise-shell tom with a distinctly red tail burst in through the camp entrance and announced, "ThunderClan has kept it's claim on the Sunningrocks! But not without loss. The warrior Darkstripe was killed in a rock fall that also took the life of the RiverClan deputy Oakheart."

A large golden brown tom padded into camp, carrying the bloodied and dusty body of a dark gray tabby tom that Firepaw assumed was Darkstripe. "Bluefur, who's Oakheart?" asked Firepaw. As he looked to Bluefur, he saw a broken look in her eyes. "Bluefur?"

Bluefur's ears were pressed back against her head in what appeared to be sadness. "Can we really call this a victory when we've lost another warrior?" Bluefur muttered, her eyes darkening.

With a confused look to Bluefur, Firepaw realized how much this loss had effected the older she-cat. After a few moments of thought, he decided that he should leave her alone, and so he went off to find where the apprentices were supposed to sleep. And he spent the rest of the night making a nest for himself and for Scorchpaw in the Apprentice's Den, after being told where it was by Mossflower. He wasn't sure as to why Bluefur was hit so hard by this death, but he didn't question it.

As he finished making the nests, Scorchpaw came in and flopped down onto the nest, covered in scratches, her collar now missing. "Are you okay?" Firepaw asked, filled with concern for his friend.

"Don't even ask," she muttered tiredly, her slight frustration obvious.

"Oh, okay," Firepaw said, letting the conversation drop, and the two went to sleep for the night. Firepaw's mind raced with the possibilities of what happened to Scorchpaw.


	5. Chapter 4

-A Half Moon Later-

It had been several days since the warrior Darkstripe had died. Firepaw was making slow, but steady, progress in his training. Most of his training was done with Mistyheart and her apprentice Ravenpaw, though Graypaw would occasionally join them for combat training. Firepaw had become fairly close friends with the two apprentices due to how much time they had spent together. Ravenpaw was shy, but he was an incredible hunter.

Firepaw, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw had been lying down in the clearing sharing tongues, when Brindleface called out, "Mossflower has started kitting! Has anyone seen Longtail?"

The three friends looked at each other. Ravenpaw stood, and announced that he would go into the forest to find Longtail. Graypaw and Firepaw then went to the Medicine Cat Den to go and get Spottedleaf. Upon entering the den, the two apprentices saw the beautiful she cat carefully replacing the salve on Mousefur's shoulder.

"Hey, Spottedleaf!" Graypaw greeted cheerfully, as he trotted into the Medicine Den. "Brindleface just announced that Mossflower started kitting," said Graypaw.

The she-cat's amber eyes widened and she began scrambling to put together a small bundle of herbs. "Firepaw, could you grab that moss? Mossflower will need something to bite while she's kitting," Spottedleaf instructed gently, pointing her tail to the pile of moss in the corner of the den.

Firepaw quickly gathered a paw full of moss. "I can carry this for you, if you'd like," Firepaw offered, his pelt tingling when Spottedleaf turned to look at him.

Her fluffy tail sweeping the ground, Spottedleaf approached the young ginger tom. "If you can, that would be a big help, Firepaw," Spottedleaf mewed with a kind look in her eyes. "Come on, Mossflower is going to need help," Spottedleaf said, padding out of the den.

The two apprentices followed the young Medicine Cat. Upon approaching the Nursery, Firepaw saw a worried Longtail pacing outside. Spottedleaf then turned to face Firepaw and said, "Alright, you two need to stay out here, I'll go and take care of Mossflower." Firepaw placed the bundle of moss on the ground, and Spottedleaf took it up and entered the nursery.

Longtail continued pacing, and Graypaw and Firepaw sat and waited outside. Ravenpaw and Bluefur burst through the entrance. "I found Bluefur!" Ravenpaw announced. The older she-cat ran into the Nursery.

After the four toms had sat in silence, hearing the occasional yowl from the Nursery, Spottedleaf exited the den, a bright look in her eyes. "Mossflower has given birth to three kits. Two toms, and one she-kit," Spottedleaf announced. Firepaw could see Longtail swelling with pride.

"Can I see them?" asked Longtail, his tail twitching in anticipation. With the okay nod from Spottedleaf, he quickly padded into the den.

"Can we go see them?" Graypaw asked, excited about the new kits.

Spottedleaf began to pad back to her den. "Go on ahead," Spottedleaf called over her shoulder.

The two apprentices excitedly dashed into the den. Upon entering the den, Firepaw saw three small kits curled up at Mossflower's belly. Mossflower looked exhausted, but absolutely elated. Longtail sat beside her, nuzzling her and licking her between the ears affectionately. "What are their names?" Firepaw asked, staring at the three kits.

"Oh, well, I was thinking that we could name them," Mossflower began, weakly lifting her tail to point to each kit. "Thrushkit, after my father," Mossflower pointed to a large dark gray tom. "Smokekit," she pointed to a small white she-kit with black splotches on her pelt. "And this one..." she looked to the small reddish-brown tabby tom, and thought for a moment. "Oakkit," she decided, mewing softly, "In honor of Oakheart. He was a great warrior, and RiverClan will surely miss him."

A shocked look came across Bluefur's face as Mossflower said this. "Oh, well, he does look somewhat like Oakheart," Bluefur said, a melancholy ring to her voice.

Longtail purred softly, nuzzling his mate. "Well, they're all beautiful, just like you," he breathed, pressing his muzzle to Mossflower's. The two mates then simply sat and purred with each other, happier than ever to have a family.

Bluefur looked mournfully at the small red-brown tom. "Firepaw, you and I will go out for combat practice with Tigerclaw and Scorchpaw in a little bit, okay?" Bluefur announced, before calmly standing and leaving the Nursery.

Ever since it had been announced that Oakheart and Darkstripe had died, Bluefur would sometimes just space out for long periods of time. Mostly when they would pass by the river. He wondered why she had been hit so hard by these losses. Firepaw followed after Bluefur, somewhat concerned for the older she-cat. "Bluefur, are you okay? You've seemed really upset recently," Firepaw asked, falling into step beside the blue-gray she-cat.

With a tired look, Bluefur's calm blue eyes turned to Firepaw. "I've lost a lot of cats in my days, Firepaw, when you've lived as long as I have, you'll understand," breathed Bluefur, staring wistfully out into the forest.

Silence fell upon the two as they padded through the thick forest to the training ground. "Were you and Oakheart friends?" asked Firepaw, the silence now broken.

With a ragged breath, Bluefur replied with a sorrowful, "We were closer than most cats from rivaling clans normally are. He was a good friend to me." Firepaw could tell there was more to it than just that from how heartbroken the she-cat sounded, but he didn't push her.

As they approached the small clearing, Firepaw saw Tigerclaw and Scorchpaw practicing a complicated looking move. Bluefur looked at Scorchpaw in slight awe. "Her progress is incredible," she mewed, watching the now far more slender she-cat fight. "Tigerclaw! I don't mean to interrupt, but I thought that Firepaw and I could join you for training," Bluefur called.

The large brown tabby gruffly ordered Scorchpaw to keep practicing and pointing out where her form was off. Tigerclaw stalked over, his amber eyes dark as they fell on Firepaw. "Well, Firepaw can try sparring with Scorchpaw. She's not making as much progress as I'd like, but, she's doing well, for a kittypet," Tigerclaw begrudgingly admitted. He turned to Bluefur. "I heard from Ravenpaw and Mistyheart that Mossflower finally had her kits, how many did she and Longtail have?" Tigerclaw asked, his interest obviously only present due to his friendship with Longtail.

"They had three kits, two toms and one she-kit. The she-kit takes after her mother," Bluefur answers, remembering the kits with a fond look in her eyes. "Firepaw, go and practice with Scorchpaw," Bluefur instructed before turning to continue the conversation with Tigerclaw.

"Okay," Firepaw followed instructions and approached the seal point apprentice. "Hey, Scorchpaw, I haven't seen much of you. Have you been busy practicing with Tigerclaw?" the ginger tom asked, trying to keep a friendly tone.

Scorchpaw stopped her movements and looked to the tom. "I've been working hard to try and keep up with Tigerclaw's pace, and to hopefully even surpass his expectations," Scorchpaw panted, her legs shaking slightly from all of the work. "He is a bit hard to please at times though," she joked, still trying to catch her breath.

Opening his mouth to speak, Firepaw heard Tigerclaw growl out, "Keep practicing!"

Scorchpaw flinched at the gruff tom's voice. "I'm sorry Firepaw, but, we're gonna need to talk later," Scorchpaw mewed softly, avoiding eye contact as she leapt at the ginger tom. With sheathed claws, Scorchpaw rammed herself into Firepaw's shoulder, pushing him onto his side, and winding him. "Come on, put up a fight!" she yowled, her paws strongly holding the ginger tom to the ground by his shoulders. "Do you even practice fighting?" Scorchpaw sneered, obviously trying to provoke the tom.

Firepaw swept his back legs under Scorchpaw and tripped her up, loosening her hold on him. Firepaw slipped under her belly, and wrapped his paws over her shoulders, her head tucked under his. He began to push his right back leg down on the base of her spine, knocking the smaller she-cat to the ground. He then, with sheathed claws, put one paw to her throat, and the other to her belly.

The two apprentices stared at each other for a moment, Scorchpaw dazed, and Firepaw shocked at his own abilities. Firepaw then quickly moved off of the she-cat and apologized. "Are you okay?" Firepaw asked, giving his friend a tender, worried look.

Scorchpaw weakly stood, her legs still shaking from the practice earlier. "I'm okay," she panted, trying to catch her breath.

"What was that?!" Tigerclaw yowled furiously. He angrily marched to the two apprentices, clearly upset that Firepaw had beat Scorchpaw. "Scorchpaw, I think we need to run more drills," he hissed, ears flattened against his head in frustration. "Good job, Firepaw," growled Tigerclaw begrudgingly.

"Thank you," Firepaw mewed softly, his tail pressed against his leg in slight fear. "Are you sure you're okay, Scorchpaw?" Firepaw asked as Tigerclaw began to pad off into the forest, his tail lashing in anger.

Legs still shaking, Scorchpaw breathed out, "It'll be okay, he gets like this sometimes." Scorchpaw then began to follow Tigerclaw. Firepaw watched as his friend disappeared into the forest, following her mentor.

As the wind blew through the trees, a few leaves began to fall. "I believe that Leaf-Fall is approaching," Bluefur commented, padding over to Firepaw. "Come one, let's head back to camp, it's your turn to change the bedding in the Elder's Den," Bluefur purred, nodding her head to tell Firepaw to follow.

Firepaw stuck his tongue out in disgust and whined, "Are you sure?" With an amused nod from Bluefur, he followed her back to camp dejectedly.

-That Night-

Firepaw had stayed up with Graypaw to look at the stars, when they saw Tigerclaw and an exhausted looking Scorchpaw strolling into camp. Tigerclaw parted with the she-cat to go to the Warrior's Den.

As Scorchpaw began to approach, she began to fall, but the two toms rushed to catch her. Graypaw supported her on one side, and Firepaw on the other. "Hey, hey, you okay there," Graypaw asked, nudging Scorchpaw with his muzzle.

"Hmm? I'm okay," she murmured, her voice weak.

"Sure you are," Graypaw said sarcastically. "I'll take her from here, Firepaw, you go on ahead," Graypaw mewed, giving Firepaw a dismissive nod. Firepaw headed off to the Apprentice's Den.

As he began to lay down, he heard the familiar sound of Sandpaw's voice. "Welcome back, Kittypet," she mewed teasingly, her nose scrunched up in mock disgust. When he first joined the clan, Sandpaw would complain about how he smelled, and called him nothing but Kittypet, but, after a long talk with Stonefur, she had begun to respect Firepaw. "What happened?" inquired Sandpaw.

Folding his paws under his chest, Firepaw released a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Scorchpaw only just got back from training, and she nearly collapsed. She's lucky Graypaw and I had stayed out later to stargaze," Firepaw explained, his chest feeling heavy with worry. "Graypaw is helping her."

As this was said, Graypaw came in, a worn Scorchpaw leaning heavily on his shoulder. "Come on, sleepy, we need to get to your nest before you can pass out. I'll let you take mine since it's closer," Graypaw said, leading Scorchpaw to a bed of moss the sat on Firepaw's left side. Graypaw padded to Firepaw and whispered lowly, "She's been over-worked past the point of it being safe, and she looks like she's not been eating properly. We need to tell someone."

The two friends looked each other dead in the eye, nodding at one another in understanding. Firepaw turned to the nearly conked out Scorchpaw and asked, "What did you and Tigerclaw do?"

Blue eyes glazed over in exhaustion, Scorchpaw mused, "Well, he had me do triple the drills I normally do, and I had to catch two birds. It's okay though, I can handle it." She looked lazily up at Firepaw and simply said, "He doesn't want you to be better than me. I think he's trying to prove he's better than Bluefur by having the stronger apprentice."

Firepaw gave Scorchpaw a comforting lick on the shoulder. She purred softly in response. "Firepaw, I'm sorry," she breathed quietly.

"What? why?" Firepaw asked, his head tilting in confusion.

"I yelled at you," she paused, breathing slowly. "I think part of me wanted you to win, you know, to prove to Tigerclaw that you could be strong, and that aren't just a Kittypet that happened to get lucky and enter the clans." Firepaw listened to each breath the slender Siamese took in and let out.

When he knew that the she-cat had fallen asleep, Firepaw allowed himself to drift off, his mind heavy with worry for his friend.


	6. Chapter 5

-One and a half Moons Later-

It had been nearly two moons since Firepaw and Scorchpaw had begun their training in ThunderClan. Mossflower's kits had only just recently opened their eyes, and it was discovered by Spottedleaf that Thrushkit had been born blind. Thistlestar had decided that the kit must be renamed, and announced the kit's new name as Blindkit, much to the anger of Bluefur.

Despite all this, there was still good news. The time of the next Gathering was swiftly approaching. Graypaw had said that a Gathering was when the four clans would come together and meet in peace, and announce what news each clan had to offer. Firepaw didn't get to go to the last Gathering, something about needing to prove his loyalty before he could go, but, Thistlestar allowed for Firepaw and Bluefur to join the clan for this moon's Gathering.

As night fell, the apprentices gathered together, excitedly conversing. Graypaw began excitedly speaking about this RiverClan apprentice he'd met at the last Gathering. Scorchpaw started speaking about how she'd seen that ShadowClan had been getting a lot of apprentices. As they were about to leave, Ravenpaw quickly runs to walk with his friends.

"Hey, sorry, it took me a bit to convince Mistyheart to let me go to the Gathering on my own," the senior apprentice mewed softly. Mistyheart had come down with a mild case of White Cough, so she couldn't come to the Gathering. "Hey, Scorchpaw," said Ravenpaw softly. The older apprentice seemed to get rather flustered whenever he spoke to Scorchpaw. Firepaw supposed that it was because he admired her fighting skills and strength.

The slender seal point she-cat purred amiably to the black tom. "I'm glad you could join us, Ravenpaw," Scorchpaw mewed kindly in greeting to her friend. With a somewhat teasing tone, the she-cat meowed, "This is Firepaw's first ever Gathering." The four apprentices walked side-by-side. "I hope the big bad rival clans won't scare you," she purred jokingly, nudging the ginger tom teasingly with her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, you're real funny," Firepaw purred with a roll of his eyes. "Let's just go," he says, and the friends begin to focus more on following the rest of the clan more closely. As they all ran swiftly through the forest, crossing into ShadowClan territory to reach the place of meeting, Four Trees.

Bounding into the large clearing, they found two older looking toms sitting on top of a large smooth rock, one was a pale brown tabby tom with a broken jaw, the other was a dark brown tom covered in scars with a tail that was bent at an odd angle.

After Thistlestar leapt onto the rock with the other two toms, the darker brown tom began speaking to the other two. Graypaw leaned over to Firepaw and said, "The big tabby with the broken jaw is Crookedstar, leader of RiverClan, and the scary looking guy with all the scars is Brokenstar, the leader of ShadowClan." Firepaw nodded, taking the information in. "WindClan's leader should be here by now, his name is Tallstar," Graypaw explained. "Well, until he gets here, I can introduce you to that apprentice from RiverClan that I was telling you about!" Graypaw said excitedly, beginning to lead his friend into a group of unfamiliar cats,

"But what about Scorchpaw and Ravenpaw? Shouldn't we ask them if they want to join?" Firepaw asked, worried about abandoning his other two friends.

A purr began to rumble in Graypaw's chest. "Trust me, Firepaw, they'll hardly notice we've left," the gray apprentice meowed, his voice showing clear amusement at Firepaw's confusion. "She's apparently the daughter of Crookedstar, she's really nice, though I'm sure that she wouldn't be as friendly in a battle," Graypaw said, looking around fervently for the apprentice.

The searched until a yowl could be heard from atop the Great Rock where the leaders sat. "This Gathering has begun!" Firepaw looked up and saw that Brokenstar was the one who had called the beginning of the Gathering.

"WindClan's not here yet, should we not wait, Brokenstar?" Crookedstar inquired, giving the rough looking tom a suspicious look.

Brokenstar shot a hostile look to Crookedstar. "There's no need, they won't be coming," Brokenstar hissed ominously. "I will begin this Gathering by saying that ShadowClan has come upon hard times, our clan is growing and our territory has not been as plentiful, and we must ask ThunderClan and RiverClan for territory on which to hunt," Brokenstar requested bluntly. "ShadowClan had already asked WindClan for it's assistance, but, they rejected our request, and we forced them out of their territory," announced Brokenstar, looking harshly to the other leaders, as though he was daring Thistlestar and Crookedstar to challenge him.

An uproar broke out through the cats at the gathering. "Can he really just do that?" Firepaw asked Graypaw in a panic, worried about the now missing clan. Looking to Graypaw, he saw the gray tom's ears were flattened against his head.

Crookedstar held up his tail calmly, signaling for silence. "RiverClan will allow ShadowClan to have access to its river," Crookedstar announced, his voice somewhat strained. A slender spotted golden she-cat that sat at the bottom of the rock looked up at Crookedstar in shock. "The river is plentiful, it is what's best for both our clans," THE tom said, trying to maintain a calm before all the clans.

"Thank you," Brokenstar sneered. "What about you Thistlestar? Can ShadowClan count on your compliance?" the large brown tom asked, his eyes showing a clear dislike for the gray and white tabby.

Thistlestar's fur bristled, and his tail began to lash fiercely, showing his anger. "ThunderClan will not give you any of its territory. Our clan is growing also, and we have no prey to spare, even if we did, I still wouldn't give up my clan's territory to anyone," the large tom hissed, his claws flexing in his anger. "ThunderClan has nothing to report," the tom grunted, his face scrunched up in displeasure.

The forest seemed to fall silent after Thistlestar finished. All cats sat with baited breath for what would happen next. Thistlestar and Brokenstar just sat and glared at each other for several moments. "I have one final announcement," Brokenstar growled, his eyes narrowed at Thistlestar. "A cat from ShadowClan has been exiled, and have yet to track her down and kill her. Be wary of any cats intruding on your territory," Brokenstar finished, the tension in the air heavy.

Standing, Crookedstar broke the tension by pressing his tail to Thistlestar's shoulder. "Well, this Gathering has come to a close, the clans may now return to their camps," the elderly RiverClan leader yowled, jumping down from the rock, the other two leaders following suit. Thistlestar began to furiously lead his clan mates back to camp.

Firepaw and Graypaw followed and eventually found Ravenpaw and Scorchpaw in the sea of cats. The four friends followed the rest of the clan back to camp, the tension from the Gathering still thick in the air. Stonefur slowed down and fell into step with the four apprentices, his scarred ears twitching uncomfortably. "You four might want to be cautious about approaching Thistlestar with anything for a while, he's not going be very friendly for a while," Stonefur said, his amber eyes glancing awkwardly to the apprentices. "That goes especially for you, Firepaw," Stonefur whispered, staring intensely at the ginger tom.

Worry flooded over Firepaw. "What? Why?" he asked, somewhat confused.

The blue-gray warrior sighed. "A couple reasons," Stonefur grunted. "Bluefur is your mentor, and you used to be a kittypet," Stonefur stated bluntly. "Scorchpaw at least has that Tigerclaw is her mentor going for her," the tom breathed out, his amber eyes looking dully to the seal point Siamese she-cat. "Well, either way, just be careful around Thistlestar, he'll be more hostile than usual…" Stonefur whispered before speeding up and walking alongside Bluefur and Lionheart.

ThunderClan returned to camp a short while after that, the whole clan now anxiously awaiting what may lay ahead of them because of the conflict between Thistlestar and Brokenstar.

As Firepaw, Ravenpaw, Graypaw, and Scorchpaw all entered the Apprentice's Den to sleep for the night, a thought entered Firepaw's mind. _"What if we get attacked by ShadowClan?"_ the ginger tom thought, his muscles tensing. All the apprentices tried their best to sleep after the Gathering. This thought continued to plague Firepaw well into the night until sleep finally overcame him, though this concern never left him.


	7. Chapter 6

Firepaw and Ravenpaw were asked by their mentors to go off to hunt on their own. Mistyheart and Bluefur had been wanting to get to relax back at camp while the former was still fully recovering from her White Cough. The two toms decided to split up for hunting. Firepaw took the area near the Sunningrocks, and Ravenpaw took the area near the Snakerocks.

After splitting up, Firepaw caught a two mice on the way to Sunningrocks. As he began to reach the area near the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes. Firepaw opened his mouth to try and better catch the scent, but the scent seemed to blend in with the rest of the forest. Firepaw took position into a hunting crouch and began to slowly creep closer and closer to the bush, suspecting the rustling was the work of some sort of mouse or vole.

As he crept closer and closer to the bush, a large fluffy cat jumped out at Firepaw, pinning him to the ground, the grass crushed under his weight. Panic overcame Firepaw, and he quickly raked his back paws across his attacker's belly, his claws unsheathed. The attacker hissed lowly, their grip loosening, giving Firepaw a chance to push them off of him. He scrambled to find a footing to face his attacker head on, finding the attacker to be a fluffy gray older looking she-cat with a flattened muzzle.

His tail fur had fluffed out from the attack, he held a defensive stance as the dull gray she-cat moved to sit down on the grass, intensely staring down the ginger tom. Firepaw's emerald green eyes stared into the deep golden eyes of the large fluffy she-cat. As Firepaw began to take a closer look at the she-cat, he noticed that she looked tired and her eyes were hunger-pained. She opened her mouth to speak, meowing, "Hmph, just finish me off, kit. I've already lost everythin', just end my sufferin'." Her voice sounded weak and strained. The she-cat's eyes looked heavy with exhaustion.

Firepaw cautiously crept closer to the she-cat. "I won't kill you, a true warrior will only kill another cat if it's absolutely necessary," Firepaw mewed, still cautiously staring down the large gray cat. "Are you okay? You look hungry," Firepaw inquired, curious about the unhealthy looking state of the she-cat. Her fur was dirty and matted, her ribs protruded slightly under her thick gray fur, she looked like a mess, and he wondered what this poor she-cat must have gone through. "I'll be right back," Firepaw meowed before turning and running off into the forest.

Stopping to listen to the sounds of the forest, Firepaw waited until he caught the scent of prey. He steadily dropped into a hunting crouch and began to move slowly advancing towards the scent. As he approached, Firepaw saw that it was plump mouse. Firepaw continued forward, pouncing on the mouse once he was close enough to the small prey.

After placing a kill bite on the mouse's neck, Firepaw raced back to where the old gray she-cat had been. He found her laying down there exactly where he'd left her, laying down and licking the wounds from their small scuffle. "Hey," Firepaw mewed through a mouthful of fur. "I thought you might want something to eat," said the apprentice sheepishly as he gently placed the mouse in front of the heavily scarred old gray she-cat.

The she-cat gave Firepaw a suspicious look before taking a tentative bite of the mouse. After swallowing, the she-cat's golden eyes lit up and she began to hungrily dig into the mouse. As she finished, she looked up at Firepaw, staring intensely at the orange tom. "Why're ya helpin' me, kit?" grunted the she-cat, her voice hoarse.

Firepaw's eyes widened in response to the she-cat's gruff response. "Well, you looked really hungry, and I couldn't just let you starve," Firepaw said, shuffling his paws awkwardly, now unsure of his decision to help the old she-cat. After a long and awkward pause, Firepaw spoke up with an introduction, "My name is Firepaw, I'm a ThunderClan apprentice."

A hoarse purr began emanating from the old, gray she-cat. "Ah, you're the Kittypet that Bluefur recruited. Spottedleaf mentioned you to me a while back," mused the gray she-cat. "My name is Yellowfang, the ex Medicine Cat of ShadowClan," introduced Yellowfang, beginning to rise to her paws. "Well, I should be on my way, kit, I need to get out of the forest," Yellowfang announced, wincing as she began to try and walk away.

"Wait!" called Firepaw. "Why don't you come back to camp with me? I'm sure that you could at least stay long enough for your wounds to heal," Firepaw offered, his pelt prickling with discomfort.

A loud purr burst from Yellowfang. "Have ya ever met Thistlestar? He'd never let me stay," Yellowfang joked. "But if yer gonna insist, I may as well try," Yellowfang said after seeing the embarrassed look in Firepaw's eyes.

Firepaw felt a surge of confidence at the gray she-cat saying this. "Alright! Come on, I'll bring you to camp!" Firepaw mewed excitedly, cheerily striding towards the camp, Yellowfang cautiously treading behind him.

As they traveled through the forest, Firepaw saw Ravenpaw approaching camp, an adder clutched in his jaws. "Firepaw! Look what I killed!" Ravenpaw exclaimed happily, bounding over to his friend. As he saw the imposing figure of Yellowfang he quickly dropped the snake and gave Firepaw a terrified look. "Firepaw, where are you taking her?" whispered the black tom, his green eyes gone wide with fear.

"She's wounded, I'm taking her back to camp so Spottedleaf can help her," Firepaw explained surprised at his friend's apprehensiveness towards the old, gray she-cat. "Come on, Ravenpaw, she won't be able to do anything," Firepaw whispered, trying to reassure his friend, and also kind of trying to reassure himself of his own decision.

After a moment of looking uncertainly at his friend, Ravenpaw seemed to have decided to trust Firepaw. "Alright, I'll walk with you back to camp then," Ravenpaw stated, beginning to walk back to camp, followed closely by Firepaw and Yellowfang.

As the group entered camp, they were greeted by the heated stares of their clan mates. Ravenpaw quietly whispered to Firepaw, "You might want to introduce Yellowfang as a hostage to Thistlestar." Ravenpaw then dropped off the dead adder he'd caught by the fresh kill pile.

"Why?" questioned Firepaw, giving Ravenpaw an odd stare as he padded over to follow his close friend.

"I'm not sure how Thistlestar will react to the idea of taking care of an enemy cat," Ravenpaw whispered worriedly, his eyes darting cautiously. "If we say that you found her in our territory, and that we captured her and escorted her back to camp, then he would view her more as a war prisoner of ShadowClan, and not like us aiding ShadowClan," continued the thin black tom.

As Ravenpaw finished his explanation, a patrol came back into camp consisting of Longtail, Redtail, Dustpaw, Whitestorm, and Thistlestar. As the patrol came back into camp, Thistlestar quickly noticed the presence of Yellowfang. He angrily tromped over to the old gray she-cat, a loud growl rumbling in his throat. "What are you doing here, ShadowClan scum," Thistlestar spat, his ears pinned to his head and his fur standing on end.

As Yellowfang began to open her mouth to speak, Firepaw interjected quickly with, "I was hunting near Sunningrocks, and I found her!" Thistlestar looked furiously over to Firepaw, his amber eyes narrowed heatedly onto Firepaw. "We fought, and I subdued her, and Ravenpaw assisted me in taking her back to camp, he said we could take her hostage..." Firepaw meowed, growing quieter the more her spoke, looking awkwardly at the ground.

Yellowfang gave Firepaw an odd look. "I'm no threat to ya, Thistlestar. Brokenstar already exiled me from ShadowClan," Yellowfang explained roughly, her eyes showing an obvious lack of concern for how the ThunderClan leader would react.

Thistlestar's growl had never ceased, and he angrily hissed, "Alright, we'll take you prisoner, Yellowfang, ShadowClan won't be as much of a threat without their experienced Medicine Cat." Thistlestar then padded over to the Highrock, and leapt up onto it, his fur still standing on end.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting!" yowled Thistlestar. The clan gathered around to hear the words of their leader. "Two of our apprentices have captured the ShadowClan Medicine Cat, Yellowfang," Thistlestar announced, glaring sharply down at the dull gray she-cat. "She will be held hostage here in ThunderClan camp, and the apprentices who found her, Firepaw and Ravenpaw, will be looking after her while she is here in camp," Thistlestar continued, "And Ravenpaw will have primary care of the she-cat while his mentor, Mistyheart, is still ill. That is all I have to announce," Thistlestar growled, jumping down from the rock, his ears still pinned to his head.

Ravenpaw stared awkwardly down at his paws. Firepaw nudged his friend's shoulder with his nose, and gave him a sympathetic look. "Hey, I'll help you make her nest and hunt for her," Firepaw offered, trying to make things easier on them both for the first day.

"Thank you, Firepaw," mewed Ravenpaw uncomfortably, looking gratefully to the ginger tom.

The two gathered moss from Spottedleaf's den, Firepaw nervously sharing a few words with the beautiful, calm she-cat. They then build a nest for Yellowfang outside of the Elder's Den. Ravenpaw had volunteered to go out and catch something for the she-cat while Firepaw stayed back in camp to watch her, much to the discomfort of the ginger tom.

Firepaw stares intently at the old she-cat. Yellowfang licks her chest for a few minutes, and then begins staring back at Firepaw. "Kit, check me for ticks, mah pelt's been itchin'," Yellowfang commanded, her fluffy tail lashing impatiently. The ginger tom stood from his sitting position, slightly intimidated by the gray she-cat.

As he began to walk towards her, Firepaw saw Blindkit run up to the grumpy, old she-cat. "You smell weird," the little dark gray tom mewed bluntly, staring dully in her direction. Yellowfang's fur immediately stood on end when she saw the tiny tom, as though she was terrified of him. "Where did you come from?" he asked tilting his head slightly.

As it finally processed to her that the little tom was talking to her, Yellowfang's lip curled back, baring her cracked, yellow teeth, and she hissed out, "Get away from me, kit!" Her claws had become fully extended and her muscles tensed.

Blindkit stood still before her, completely unfazed by the she-cat's obvious displeasure at his presence. "Why?" he questioned, padding closer to the very obviously tense she-cat. "Thistlestar said you were a Medicine Cat, Spottedleaf won't teach me anything about herbs, no matter how much I ask. Will you tell me some of the herbs?" the little tom asked, Blindkit's eyes looked to be filled with hope.

Yellowfang stood quickly, her ears pinned to her head. "I told ya to get away, now ya'd best get away from me!" she screeched, the kit's close proximity to her obviously terrifying her. "I said go!" Yellowfang snapped, trying to scare the little tom off by swiping her claws close to his face, but not hitting him.

"What was that?" Blindkit asked confusedly. "I felt something near my face for a moment," the kit stated confused and slightly distressed.

Firepaw had seen enough and stood between Yellowfang and Blindkit. "Stop trying to chase him off. Blindkit didn't do anything wrong!" the ginger tom said, standing protectively between the old she-cat and the gray kitten.

The mention of what the kit's name was seemed to surprise Yellowfang, but, it seemed to also somewhat calm her down. "Fine, just, get him away. Don't forget to check for the fleas, kit," Yellowfang grumbled padding back over to the nest that had been made for her in the clearing. "Blindkit, eh, what a cruel name," the dull gray she-cat muttered to herself.

Relief flooded over Firepaw as Yellowfang flopped down into the nest. He turned to face Blindkit, giving the kit a sympathetic look. "Blindkit, you need to go back to Mossflower, I'm sure she's worried about you straying so far from the nursery alone," Firepaw mewed gently, nudging the kit with his nose, trying to goad him into heading back to the thistle bush.

"Okay, I just wanted to say hi," Blindkit murmured dejectedly, trudging back to the nursery with his tail limply dragging behind him.

Firepaw then spent the rest of the day checking Yellowfang for ticks, or trading places with Ravenpaw to go hunting while he checked her. He couldn't understand why the presence of a kit could scare a cat like Yellowfang.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning, Firepaw awoke to hear a cat yowling, "SHADOWCLAN IS ATTACKING!" Firepaw awoke with a jolt, though groggy, he knew he needed to get out and defend the camp. He bounded out of the den, alongside the now awake Graypaw. The two then leap into action, he had attacked a large dark gray tom. The tom fought back by pinning the smaller ginger tom to the ground with one paw, his claws digging into Firepaw's shoulder. He then quickly claws at the ShadowClan cat's underbelly.

As Firepaw clawed, he could feel the other tom's fur against his paws, the blood pooling around his claws as they sank into his skin, he even had caught the scent of it. This was nothing like battle training with the other apprentices. These senses overtook him for a few moments, leaving him stunned. The other tom then took the opening and dug his claws into Firepaw's shoulder, sending pain though his body, the tom about to claw at his stomach, when a gray blur tackled the bulky ShadowClan warrior. It was Graypaw!

"C'mon, Firepaw, snap out of it!" the gray apprentice hissed. Firepaw shook his head, regaining his senses, and he quickly moved to get up on his paws, his ears now pinned to his head, and his fur fluffed out in displeasure. The two friends then fended off the tom together.

Graypaw leapt onto the larger gray tom's back, claws unsheathed, fiercely clawing and biting at the ShadowClan tom. Firepaw then bounds over to help his friend, clawing at the tom's muzzle, the scent of blood drawn now fueling his attacks. It went on like this, with constant attacks from both apprentices, until the tom finally fled, leaving the two behind, covered in scratches, panting tiredly. The two look triumphantly to one another. "Thanks, Graypaw," Firepaw pants softly, looking happily at the fluffy gray tom.

Graypaw gives Firepaw a cheerful look. "Don't thank me just yet," Graypaw jokes, before dashing off to find his mentor. Firepaw watched after the gray tom, before going to find Bluefur. On his way, he saw a terrified Spottedleaf desperately trying to fend off a pair of ShadowClan warriors. Before he had even noticed it, his paws were carrying him towards the pretty tortoiseshell she-cat.

He couldn't explain it, he needed to protect her, to try and save her. He quickly leapt at the two cats. One was a heavily scarred tom, and the other had an unusually short tail. Firepaw clawed at the tom with the short tail, tackling him to the ground, biting at the tom's throat before being kicked off quickly.

As Firepaw hit the ground, he felt his head bang roughly against a stone, leaving him stunned and his sight blurred. He tried to stand, but his balance was gone. He felt a soft pelt brush against his, and a kind voice sadly say, "Thank you," before he felt his vision go black and he collapsed fully to the ground.

-When Firepaw Wakes Up-

The familiar scent of the Medicine Den filled Firepaw's nose. His eyes fluttered open. Looking around bleary-eyed, trying to find Spottedleaf in the den, but only found a very somber looking Yellowfang. "What happened?" Firepaw asked weakly, trying to take in his surroundings, now noticing how most of the herbs were shredded and dirtied, spread all across the cold floor of the stump den. "Where's Spottedleaf?!" Firepaw asked with a start, leaping anxiously to his feet, looking for the warm she-cat he had seen so many times.

Yellowfang silently approached the tom, pressing her tail to his shoulder. "Go out inta th'clearing, but ya might not like it," Yellowfang said, her voice tight, with a shocking twinge of sympathy. "Though I'd advise against doin' any hard exercise, ya've been out all day."

Confusion passed over Firepaw, but he brushed it off, assuming it was a trick or something, Yellowfang is never that gentle. He padded out of the den and found the clan licking at their wounds, and saw Mossflower wailing loudly, with a heavily bleeding Longtail licking gently at the she-cat in an attempt to calm her. As he continued to look, his eyes fell on the cats that lay limply together, and he saw the bodies of Patchpelt, One-eye, Speckletail, Runningwind, and…

Firepaw stopped, he stared blankly at the form of the last cat, and he silently padded forward, his paws moving on their own, as they had before in the attack. He stood solidly, swallowing hard, his whiskers quivering. Until all at once he fell to the ground with his tail wrapped in a self-comforting gesture. His heart felt as though it had stopped. He looked at the cat, he pressed his nose into their fur, expecting their usual kind warmth, but there was nothing but a cold empty feeling. He couldn't believe it, Spottedleaf was gone. Firepaw began to shake, pressing whole face into her fur, desperate to feel her warmth, to feel her there again, but there was nothing.

"Firepaw? Are you okay?" Sandpaw asked tentatively, stepping slowly towards the ginger tom.

His head whipped around, he stared at Sandpaw for a few moments, his emotions in a flurry. He didn't know how to respond at first. He then stood shakily, his lip curled back. "Do I _look_ okay?! They're all gone! Spottedleaf is gone…" he started with a loud hiss, but as he continued, it faded to a soft whimper. Sandpaw padded closer to Firepaw, touching her nose to his shoulder. Firepaw felt his whole body stiffen uncomfortably, and he quickly recoiled and yowled once more, "Just go away, okay!" As he yowled this, his pelt stood on end, his ears were pressed back against his head.

He then glared angrily at Sandpaw, breathing heavily, until he began to suddenly realize the feeling of his clanmates shocked gazes as they bore into his pelt. He then looked around at the cats around him, many were shocked by the sudden out burst. As he looked around, he then looked back to Sandpaw and fully took her in. He saw how terrified she was by his sudden anger, and he saw how small she looked. "Sandpaw, I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me," he hurriedly explains, trying desperately to fix what he had just done, stepping towards her, only for her to back away and then turn and run away completely. He could hear the faint whispers of his clanmates, knowing their disapproval. And for the third time that day, he let his paws carry him, and he just ran.

He ran, until he found himself at the Thunderpath that separated ShadowClan and ThunderClan territory. He then sat and contemplated things. He started to question why even joined the clans in the first place, it seemed exciting, living in the forest, hunting for survival, and then things like this happened, and now Spottedleaf, and many others, were gone. He could feel his heart breaking, he felt so useless. He couldn't do anything to help her.

As he sat, he heard the rustling of leaves behind him. He whipped around and saw Graypaw, Scorchpaw, Ravenpaw, and Yellowfang. Graypaw then padded calmly to Firepaw, and pressed is nose to the tom's shoulder, and then Firepaw fully broke down. Ravenpaw and Scorchpaw followed, the four apprentices in a clump, Firepaw in the center wailing softly, as he mourned for Spottedleaf, the first cat to truly be kind to him when he had first joined the clan.

As his wailing slowly died down, he then stood and thanked his friends for coming after him. Firepaw then looked to Yellowfang and asked why she had come with them.

"ShadowClan has taken four of the clan's kits, they took Mossflower's litter, and they took Frostfur's kit Brackenkit," Yellowfang explained. "Thistlestar is arranging a patrol to retrieve them tomorrow, but if we want them alive, we need to get them now," Yellowfang mewed seriously, looking intensely into Firepaw's green eyes. "I am here to guide you four through ShadowClan territory and into it's camp, and I'm going to end everything…" Yellowfang stared wistfully at the territory.

With that, they all dash across the Thunderpath, and into ShadowClan territory. As they crept carefully through the territory, Yellowfang leading them, they finally reached the entrance of the camp, Yellowfang stopped the four apprentices. "It's late, and a battle has occurred, most of the clan should be sleeping, we can sneak in, get the kits, and sneak back out," Yellowfang explained, "And while you get the kits, I have some business I need to complete…" she finished, staring down at the ground.

The group snuck into the camp carefully, Scorchpaw and Graypaw went to go and grab the kits, while Firepaw and Ravenpaw stood watch, and Yellowfang went into a den, saying that things would finally be over. As they waited, Scorchpaw came out of the den with a sleeping Blindkit in her jaws, and a very tired Oakkit following closely behind her. Graypaw followed soon after with a sleepy Smokekit in his jaws, and a very much awake and scared Brackenkit walking beside him.

"Okay, we have the kits, now let's get out of here," Ravenpaw whispered, looking around anxiously.

"We can't leave without Yellowfang, it's because of her we were able to get them safely," Firepaw insisted, jerking his head in the direction of the den that she had entered.

Scorchpaw nodded. "You go and get her, we'll go on and head to the Thunderpath," Scorchpaw mewed, leading Oakkit out of the camp, now having handed Blindkit to the larger Ravenpaw. Firepaw nodded to the pretty she-cat before going after Yellowfang.

The den was a lot larger inside than it had initially appeared. Padding deeper into the den, Firepaw finally saw Yellowfang standing over a cat before she began lay down and press her nose into the cats fur, as though in mourning. "Yellowfang?" Firepaw murmured, very confused by the scene.

Yellowfang leapt back in response, revealing the cat to be Brokenstar, who he now saw was covered in blood. Firepaw looked at Yellowfang in horror. "It had to be done..." she breathed, avoiding his eyes. "There's no tellin' how many others would die under his rule, ya didn't see what he did to my clan," Yellowfang mewed, obviously not ashamed of her decision, but still seemingly pained by it.

"Why were you mourning him if he was so terrible?" Firepaw asked slowly, looking Yellowfang dead in the eyes silently.

Yellowfang looked again at the dead tom, with pain evident in her eyes. "As terrible as he was, he still deserves to be mourned," Yellowfang meowed before padding towards the exit. "Now the clan may recover, hopefully."

Firepaw followed Yellowfang out of the den. The two left the camp in silence, and eventually reached the Thunderpath where they found the others.

Graypaw bounded over to Firepaw, Smokekit still held tightly in his jaws. "Hey, Firepaw, did everything go okay?" the gray apprentice asked through a mouthful of fur.

With a hesitant glance to Yellowfang, Firepaw meowed, "Well, Yellowfang did what she had to do."

Graypaw's ears twitched for a moment or so, and he then set down Smokekit. "Well, could you take Smokekit since you stayed back?" Graypaw asked cheerily. Firepaw calmly takes the small gray and white kitten and heads back to camp with the rest of the group, they could see the sun slowly rising over the horizon. The ground was cold and hard from the cold Leaf-fall night, so the sunlight on his pelt felt welcoming and relaxing. As they walked through the familiar territory of ThunderClan, Firepaw gained more confidence in his stride.

As they walked, they ran into a patrol consisting of Thistlestar, Tigerclaw, Redtail, Dustpaw, and Whitestorm. Thistlestar seemed surprised by the four apprentices. " _You_ found the kits?" Thistlestar asked, his head pulled back in surprise. The tom flicked his tail, signaling the other patrol members to guide the other two kits back to camp that weren't being carried. "I must say that I'm impressed, but you've still got a lot left to learn," Thistlestar murmured, looking to Graypaw and Ravenpaw. "Especially you, Firepaw…" hissed the tom, glaring at the ginger apprentice. "Well, come on," he jerked his head, as if to tell them to follow him. "You too, Yellowfang."

The old gray she-cat looked weary, but she walked with pride nonetheless. Firepaw followed the patrol alongside Yellowfang back to camp. As they enter the camp, Mossflower bounds over to the group exuberant, repeatedly thanking the four apprentices and Yellowfang for bringing her kits back, and Brackenkit bounds back to his mother Frostfur happily.

There was so much that had happened in this day, and Firepaw never took a moment to really stop and rest. His muscles ached from the fighting, and his head hurt from the injury he had received earlier. All he could think about was finally getting some real rest.


	9. Chapter 8

One moon had passed since ShadowClan had attacked, and Thistlestar had named Yellowfang the new Medicine Cat in an attempt to spite Brokenstar at the next clan Gathering, only to find out that the ShadowClan leader had died, and Nightpelt had overthrown Blackfoot, Clawface, and Boulder, who had supported Brokenstar's reign. Due to the fact that many of the herbs had been destroyed, Lionheart wasn't able to be properly treated, and so his wounds from the battle had become infected, and he had grown very weak.

Brindleface had given birth to kits just the other day, and due to Yellowfang having to work alone, and not having the help and herbs that she needed, she was incapable of saving the life of Brindleface's son Tulipkit who had been born very weak, and she was only able to save the life of the other weak kit Elderkit. Her other two kits, Fernkit and Ashkit were perfectly healthy however.

The past moon had mostly been spent trying to heal the clan and regain its strength after having been so battered and beaten down by ShadowClan. Firepaw had tried to do his part and occasionally helped Yellowfang collect herbs, and went out hunting in his time that Bluefur left for his own. Mistyheart had also recently finally fully recovered from her Whitecough.

Firepaw sleepily left the Apprentice's Den as the sun rose, his sleeping schedule finally adjusted to the early morning hours of Clan life. As he stretched in the middle of the clearing, Tigerclaw approached him, very obviously sleep deprived. "Firepaw, I want you, Bluefur, Mistyheart, Ravenpaw, and Mousefur on the Dawn Patrol, are we clear?" growled the large dark brown tabby tom. "I need to continue Scorchpaw's training from yesterday, so I can't come with you," he continued, trailing off, staring at the Apprentice's Den.

Firepaw turned to see what Tigerclaw was looking at, and he saw that the tom had been staring at his Scorchpaw who stood just outside the Apprentice's Den stretching. His eyes went wide as Firepaw realized that was kind of odd for Tigerclaw to be staring at her, but then brushed it off as that he was just concerned about her. "Alright, I'll go and wake them up then," Firepaw meowed dully, padding back to the Apprentice's Den to wake up Ravenpaw.

As he entered, he saw the thin black tom sleepily standing from his nest, licking his fur to brush it down. "Good morning, Ravenpaw," Firepaw greeted quietly, careful not to surprise the timid tom.

Ravenpaw calmly looked to Firepaw, a serene look about him. "Good morning," replied Ravenpaw equably. It was hard to believe at times how calm Ravenpaw really had become compared to when he had first joined the clan. "Is there something that you need?" Ravenpaw inquired, striding over to Firepaw.

"Tigerclaw wants you, me, Bluefur, Mistyheart, and Mousefur on Dawn Patrol," Firepaw told the sleek black tom. "So, let's go and get them," Firepaw said emptily, not sure what exactly to do, as normally Bluefur would wake him for morning patrols and such.

"Alright," mewed Ravenpaw in response, now having finished grooming himself. The two then approached the Warrior's Den just as a very refreshed looking Mistyheart exited the large den followed closely by a groggy looking Bluefur.

"Ah, good morning you two," Mistyheart purred kindly, striding past them to the center of camp where she briefly stretched her back. The two apprentices followed behind her, and Bluefur stayed back licking her chest fur down.

Confidently, Ravenpaw padded over to his mentor. "Tigerclaw has assigned us to Dawn Patrol. And Mousefur must come with us as well," Ravenpaw explained, a bright look in his eyes.

The silver she-cat simply nodded and entered back into the Warrior's Den to awaken the dusky brown she-cat. A few moments later, Mistyheart trotted out with a very tired and Mousefur trailing behind. "Of course he's assigned me to Dawn Patrol," Mousefur murmured annoyedly through a sleepy yawn.

A soft purr rumbled deep in Mistyheart's throat. "Hey, look on the bright side, at least we don't have to deal with 'The Perfect Tom'," joked Mistyheart, affectionately nudging Mousefur's shoulder flicking her tail in the direction of the muscular deputy. "Though, I suppose it is cutting into your time with big, strong and brooding," she purred with a sly look to the dusky brown she-cat who simply looked away embarrassedly. "Anyway, let's head out!"

The small group of cats left camp and began to patrol the border, marking their territory as they went. Mistyheart led the group with Ravenpaw calmly walking alongside her, the two talking amiably to one another as mentor and apprentice, Mistyheart occasionally teasing her shy apprentice about his fondness of someone she called 'Little miss slim and pretty'.

As they continued walking along, the sound of rustling could be heard in the underbrush. In a flash of black and silver, mentor and apprentice had dove into the underbrush. After a moment, a small high pitched squeal was heard, and a proud looking Mistyheart leaves the underbrush with a very pleased Ravenpaw, who now had a plump mouse dangling from his jaws.

"So, the apprentice has finally surpassed the mentor, hmm?" Mistyheart purrs, giving her apprentice an incredibly happy look. "You've come a long way these past five moons. Just remember..."

"It won't always be that easy to find prey," Ravenpaw says along with Mistyheart. "Of course I will remember, especially with how many times you've told me," Ravenpaw purred teasingly to the older silver she-cat. The two then bury the mouse to get later.

Firepaw opened his mouth to speak, when he caught the scent of something unfamiliar. He looked to Bluefur, and the she-cat had a terrified look in her eyes when she yowled, "Badger!" The blue-gray she-cat then leapt over protectively in front of the ginger tom with her lip curled back in a snarl, and her claws fully extended.

A large black and white hulking creature turned around the corner of the trees, sniffing at the air. It stopped for a moment and stared at the group of cats, and in a matter of seconds the badger had charged toward Mousefur, pinning the dusky brown she-cat to the dewy badger moved to bite down on the she-cat's throat.

"No!" screeched Mistyheart, her fear bleeding into her voice. She then jumped up onto the badger's back, holding onto it by digging her claws into its shoulders. She then bit down onto the back of it's neck. The badger cried out in pain, and tried to knock off Mistyheart, and released the dazed Mousefur in the process. The badger reared up by a tree knocking Mistyheart into the tree. The silver she-cat the dropped limply to the ground, completely unmoving. Bluefur ran over to her unconscious daughter, and grabbed her by the scruff to hide the hurt she-cat from the vicious beast.

"Firepaw, Ravenpaw, Mousefur, we need to retreat!" Bluefur commanded, struggling to drag Mistyheart by herself back to camp.

Just as the ginger tom nodded and was about to help Bluefur, the badger had come up behind him and shoved the ginger apprentice face first into the dirt. Firepaw struggled and tried to claw at the badger, but unable to reach the creature. Continuing to struggle against the hold of the badger, he felt the badger's teeth brushing against his shoulders, and he realized these might be his last moments. He cried out struggling vigorously. As the badger opened its jaws to bite down and kill Firepaw, he felt the pressure on his head lessen, and he tried looking up to see the badger now fighting with Ravenpaw who had clawed the beast's snout, its nose and muzzle bleeding steadily.

Ravenpaw bit the badger's ear, his paws clinging to the badger by burying his claws into the badger's thick neck. As the badger moved to knock him off, he released the badger, and clawed at its eye. Mousefur now having collected herself ran to help Bluefur with Mistyheart. "Don't just stand there, Firepaw! Help Ravenpaw!" shouted the now heavily limping she-cat.

All at once, Firepaw snapped himself out of just watching, he couldn't just stand by while fought against impossible odds. He leapt onto the badger's back clawing at it, the badger tried to fight off both cats, but it eventually couldn't handle the attacks from both of the toms and it flung off the ginger tom and ran away, blood dripping down from its muzzle, eye, and it's now torn ear. Firepaw panted alongside Ravenpaw, the two both now covered in scratches, and bleeding from several places on their bodies. The two apprentices then look triumphantly to one another, and turn to face their mentors. Mistyheart was still unconscious, but Bluefur, who was still looking over the silver she-cat.

Mousefur limped over, her front right paw lifted up weakly. "You did wonderfully, you two," Mousefur congratulated, giving a proud lick to an embarrassed Ravenpaw, she moved to do the same to Firepaw, but he flinched away, fearing contact with the she-cat. Mousefur gave him an odd look but moved on. "You two fought bravely, but let's return to camp," she purred, limping alongside the two, but Ravenpaw moved ahead to assist Bluefur in carrying his mentor back to camp.

Firepaw walked in awkward silence alongside Mousefur. "Bluefur, Ravenpaw, you two go on ahead to camp, I need to speak with Firepaw for a moment," Mousefur called ahead. Bluefur turned and nodded and continued walking, while Mousefur sat back, licking her injured paw. Firepaw stood before the dusky brown she-cat.

Once Bluefur and Ravenpaw were out of earshot, Mousefur began to speak to Firepaw. "Look, I know that the ShadowClan attack hit you hard, but you can't keep on shutting everyone out like this. This last moon you've only spent time talking to Yellowfang, Bluefur, and occasionally another apprentice if you're training with them, and you haven't taken time to really relax. It's like you think that the losses from the attack are your fault," Mousefur stated. "And I know how it feels to lose someone important to you, Runningwind was my littermate, and I have missed him more than I can say, but I keep going," Mousefur continued, looking sadly into Firepaw's green eyes. "I know he would hate it if I put everything in my life on hold for him. Besides, I have other cats in my life that I care for, and so do you," her voice grew tight and strained as she spoke, "Don't miss out on being with them because you miss someone else." Mousefur then stood and limped off.

Staring blankly after the injured she-cat, Firepaw thought for a few moments about things. Taking in what Mousefur had just told him, he stopped and thought what Spottedleaf would have told him. And could still vividly hear her voice in his head, softly telling him to enjoy the life that he has left. He could still sometimes imagine the feeling of her pelt brushing against. Firepaw resolved to take Mousefur's advice and he began to return to camp.

Padding through the forest, Firepaw finally reached the entrance of the camp, and he saw Thistlestar speaking to Bluefur and Ravenpaw. The gray and white tabby Tom looked to Firepaw, and called the ginger apprentice over.

"Bluefur tells me that you and Ravenpaw chased off a badger by yourselves," Thistlestar meowed, studying Firepaw with his dark amber eyes. "I must say, I'm very impressed with you two. Few warriors can take on a badger and live to tell the tale, much less apprentices," the massive tom spoke slowly, as though careful planning for what he would do next. "I think that the two of you are ready," he stated calmly, looking confidently to the pair of sturdy apprentices.

"Ready for what?" inquired Firepaw.

"To be warriors," Thistlestar stated bluntly.

A wave of panic rushed over Firepaw. "I honestly wouldn't have made it out of that alive if it weren't for Ravenpaw, I don't know if I'm ready yet," Firepaw sputtered out, worried that this would be a mistake. He feared losing the guidance of Bluefur so soon.

"Firepaw, I'm going to be honest," started Thistlestar, "When you first joined this Clan, I never would have thought you'd have made it even half a moon in this clan, it's part of why I made Tigerclaw Scorchpaw's mentor, I knew he wouldn't go easy on her. But I respect the drive you both have to improve, and to succeed," Thistlestar spoke looking intensely into Firepaw's eyes. "You do still have much left to learn, but it's nothing that Bluefur can teach you, it's something you must learn for yourself," Thistlestar says, and for once, Firepaw felt like the bulky leader actually felt okay with having Firepaw as part of the Clan.

Firepaw was speechless, all he could think to say was, "Thank you, Thistlestar."

The battle-scarred tom simply nodded, a kind look in his eyes. He then padded over to the Highrock, and climbed the rock. "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting!" yowled Thistlestar.

Slowly, all the warriors and apprentices in camp gathered together to hear the words of their clan leader, he saw Mossflower and her kits by the nursery, Blindkit and Oakkit patiently listening, but Smokekit wanted to keep on playing with her brothers.

"I, Thistlestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the was of our noble code and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn," Thistlestar spoke commandingly looking to the sky. "Ravenpaw, Firepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Ravenpaw vowed in a confident voice.

"I do!" exclaimed Firepaw, digging his claws into the ground.

With pride in his eyes, Thistlestar announced, "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names!" Thistlestar leapt down from the Highrock and stood tall before Ravenpaw and Firepaw. "Ravenpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Ravenheart. StarClan honors your courage, and cleverness, and we welcome you as a full member of ThunderClan!" Thistlestar then presses his muzzle to the top of Ravenheart's head. Ravenheart respectfully licks the larger tom's shoulder.

With slow steps, Thistlestar moved to stand before Firepaw. "Firepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Firestorm. StarClan honors your determination and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full member of ThunderClan." Thistlestar then rests his muzzle gently on the top of Firestorm's head. Not knowing fully what to do, he cooked what Ravenheart had done, and hesitantly licked the leader's shoulder. Then the leader pulled away from the well-muscled ginger tom.

"Ravenheart! Firestorm! Ravenheart! Firestorm!" The clan cheered for the newly named warriors. Pride began to swell in Firestorm's chest as he heard his clan cheering his name.

Thistlestar jumped back up onto the the rock. "Tonight, these two will have their silent vigil. That is all I have to announce for this meeting," Thistlestar yowled, jumping down from the rock and padding into his den.

A very excited Scorchpaw approached the two new warriors, her eyes wide with awe. "Good job you two!" she mewed, swiping a quick lick across Ravenheart's shoulder. "I'm proud of far you've come, Ravenheart," purred the pretty seal point she-cat.

"Yes, just as far as you still have to go," Tigerclaw hissed, his ears pinned back to his head. "Now let's get back to the Sandy Hollow, Scorchpaw," he murmured darkly, glaring sharply at Ravenheart, clearly disliking his apprentice's fondness for the sleek furred, young warrior. "And you two should get to work helping this clan get back to the glory it once held." And with that, Tigerclaw began to walk off. Though Scorchpaw didn't follow, until her bulky mentor came back and dragged her away by her scruff.

Firestorm angrily stares after the two. He couldn't stand not being able to do anything about the tom's harsh treatment of his friend, but he knew that if he went to Thistlestar with the issue, he would brush it off as just that Tigerclaw holds her to a high standard of accomplishment. And there wasn't much that Bluefur or Yellowfang could do about it, so all he could was watch, and hope that things would be better for her when she became a warrior herself.

Ravenheart nudged Firestorm's shoulder gently with his narrow head. "Scorchpaw can take care of herself, don't worry about her. Now, let's make our nests in the Warrior's Den, and hunt until nightfall," Ravenheart mewed comfortingly.

The two then made a couple nests of moss in the far corner of the Warrior's Den alongside Mistyheart and Stonefur's nests. They spent the remainder of the day out hunting for the Clan, and once the sun began to sink down into the sky, they returned to the camp and sat a silent vigil at the camp's entrance while the rest of the clan slept soundly in their dens.

Wind rushed through the trees, blowing through Firestorm's pelt. He could feel the cold of Leaf-Bare approaching in the chilled night air. This vigil gave time for Firestorm to think. He thought about everything that had happened since he met Bluefur. He had met and lost so many other cats, and as painful as it was, Mousefur was right, he had to keep living, if not for himself, than for the cats that he'd lost. He couldn't return to life as a kittypet anymore, he'd been through too much to go back. He looked over to Ravenheart, the tom who had once been more timid than any mouse. Ravenheart had grown along with him, and he now sat beside the black tom, the both of them proud warriors of ThunderClan.


End file.
